Articulated planer mining machine members with interposed partition



March 12, 1968 Fig. 5

W- HEYER ARTICULATED PLANER MINING MACHINE MEMBERS WITH INTERPOSEDPARTITION Filed June 35 1966 z: 4 I I INVENTOP: W/L LY H EVER BY flPatented Mar. 12, 1968 3,372,956 ARTICULATED PLANER MINHNQ MACHINEMEMBERS WITH INTERPOSED PARTKTIGN Willy Heyer, Eochum-Gertbe, Germany,assignor to Gewerlrsehatt Eisenhutte Westfalia, Wethmar, near Lunen,Westphalia, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed June 23, 1956, Ser.No. 559,970 Claims priority, application Germany, June 29, 1965, G44,017 7 Claims. (Cl. 299-454) The present invention relates toarticulated mining machine members with interposed partition, and moreparticularly to an improvement in a mining planer having a pair ofspaced apart base means and corresponding keels provided with anintermediate means interposed longitudinally between the pair of basemeans and articulatedly interconnecting the base means, whereby to forma pocket preventing excessive entry of extracted mineral into the spacebetween the base members and the keels.

Mining machines are known which include a pair of longitudinally spacedbase members articulatedly interconnected and having appropriate keelsextending rearwardly under the guide means used with the mining machine,such as a mining conveyor, whereby to achieve reinforced support of themining machine against tilting which might occur where excessive counterforces are met by the cutting means of the mining machine duringextractive engagement with the mine face. As particular construction isshown in US. Patent 3,178,229. Where such multipartite mining machineshaving more than one separate keel are utilized, a certain free spaceremains between the spaced apart base means to which the keels areconnected, which has the disadvantage that a considerable amount of finecoal or other mineral being worked enters this free space and passesunder the bottom of the mining conveyor in connection with which themining machine is used, where the same gets into the bottom flight ofthe conveyor, i.e. the return flight thereof, and thus interferes withthe conveyor operation and also with the guidance of the mining machineassociated therewith, such as a planer, as well as with the advancementof the roof prop system commonly associated with the foregoingarrangement in longwall mining operations.

Specifically, a gap is formed between the pair of base members of themining machine and in turn the keels attached thereto and underlying theconveyor, together with the bottom edge of the conveyor itself. The finecoal enters this gap into the bottom flight of the conveyor, all to thedetriment of the efiiciency of the mining operation. Generally, thethickness of the keels is about 50-60 mm. and the conveyor is thusraised about this distance from the mine floor as the keels passtherealong. Since the mining machine is constantly extractingminerahsome of such mineral enters the gap between the keels which isaccordingly about 50-60 mm. in height so that the problem in question isconstant during the entire mining operation.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoingdrawbacks and to provide articulated mining machine members with aninterposed partitition whereby to avoid excessive entry of fine coal orother mineral from the side of the mining machine adjacent the mine faceto the side thereof remote from such mine face and in turn to avoidentry of such fine mineral under the conveyor or other guide means inconnection with which the mining machine is used.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such asarrangement with constructional parts which define a cushion pocket withthe adjacent portion of the mine face, whereby accommodate fineparticles of mineral, such as coal, which serve as a sealing cushionbetween the mine face and the partition thereat to prevent excessiveentry of extracted mineral into the space between the adjacent portionsof the pair of base means of the mining machine, the keels attached tosuch base means, the underside of the guide means in question, and themine floor therebeneath.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom a study of the within specification and accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a top schematic partial view of an arrangement of base memberseach provided with a keel articulatedly interconnected with aninterposed, intermediate means in accordance with one embodiment of thein vention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional line 2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG.1,. and showing the disposition of the intermediate means of theinvention together with an alternate form of a conveyor, and

FIG. 5 is a side view of an articulated arrangement including a pair ofspaced apart base members connected by an upper element and disposed infront of a mining conveyor in the prior art manner, illustrating the gapor space between the base members and at the underside of the conveyor,such gap having a height corresponding with the thickness of the keelsextending thereunder.

It has been found in accordance with the present invention that animprovement may now be provided in a mining machine adapted to beconducted along a longitudinal guide means extending adjacent a mineface, with such mining machine in operative engagementwith such mineface for extracting mineral therefrom, in which such mining machineincludes a pair of longitudinally spaced apart tandem-arranged linkablyinterconnected base means and each said base means includes a keeladapted to underlie such guide means and slide along the mine floorthereat, said keels being correspondingly spaced apart. Specifically,such improvement comprises intermediate means interposed longitudinallybetween the pair of base means and articulatedly interconnecting saidpair of base means, the intermediate means forming a longitudinalpartition between the pair of base means which defines a cushion pocketwith the adjacent portion of the mine face between the pair of basemeans, whereby to accommodate fine particles of mineral which serve as asealing cushion between such portion of the mine face and theintermediate means thereat to prevent excessive entry of extractedmineral into the space defined between the adjacent portions of the pairof base means, the keels, the underside of such guide means and the minefloor therebeneath.

Preferably, the intermediate means includes an upright wall extendingacross and occupying the space between the pair of base means as well asa keel. stub, comparatively shorter than the keels and extendingsubstantially in the same direction and plane as said keels andoccupying the space between the keels in the vicinity of the'adjacentportion of the guide means at the pair of base means.

Optionally, an upper element may be disposed in the spa-Ce between thecorresponding upper portions of the pair of base means, with suchelement articulatedly interconnecting the pair of base means thereatwhereby to define an upwardly limiting cover member above theintermediate means to enhance the prevention of excessive entry ofextracted mineral into such defined space. Conveniently, the miningmachine may take the form of a view taken along the mining planer orplow adapted to be conducted along a mining conveyor of the conventionaltype.

Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a pair of articulated miningmachine members 1 and 1 including a pair of longitudinally spaced apartbase members 8 and 8, each having a corresponding keel 4 and 4' andoptionally a retaining log 5 and 5 at the free end of the keels for moreeificient guidance of the mining machine under the conveyor 3, shownonly schematically. The base members 8 and 8' are articulatedlyinterconnected with the intermediate member or link 13 at theconnections 2 and 2 whereby a space 12 is provided between the adjacentor medial portions of the keels 4 and 4. The intermediate link 13includes an upright wall 16 and a keel stub 17 whereby to form alongitudinal partition between the base means 8 and 8. The guides 6 and6 are optionally provided to maintain a clearance 7 above the keels 4-and 4' between the appropriate base means 8 and S and the adjacentportions of conveyor 3 thereat. Shown schematically is an upper element18 which may be provided over the intermediate link 13 to define anupwardly limiting cover member above the intermediate link whereby toenhance the prevention of excessive entry of extracted mineral into thespace 12.

In FIG. 2, the disposition of the clearance 7 between the front side 9of conveyor 3 and the adjacent portion of base means 8 may beappreciated as well as the positioning of the rearwardly extending keelof member 1 under conveyor 3 having the lug 5 at the free end thereoffor proper guidance of the mining machine along the conveyor. It will beappreciated that generally the mining machine is conducted along themine face by attachment with a traction cable, such as a cable attachedat its ends to the lugs 5 and 5', with the traction cable being loopedover appropriate spaced apart drive sprocket means, or the like in theconventional manner.

In FIG. 3, the disposition of the sealing pocket 14 is shown between theupright wall 16 of the intermediate link 13 at the front side 9 ofconveyor 3 and the mine face. The underside 11 of the conveyor is inengagement with the keel stub 17 which fills the space 12 between thekeels 4 and 4' so that none of the fine coal 15 forming a cushion inpocket 14 can enter the space under conveyor 3 to produce thedisadvantages noted above in connection with prior art arrangements.

As may be seen from FIG. 4, even in the area adjacent the articulatedconnection 2, the pocket 14 is provided with a fine mineral cushion,generally in the form of fine coal dust where coal is being extracted,such that the underside 11 of the side wall 9' of the conveyor 3' is notdisturbed with entry of undesired mineral thereat. This figure alsoillustrates the preferred similarity in thickness of the keel stub 17and the appropriate keel (keel 4 being shown schematically), so as toachieve an efficient sealing of the underside 11 of conveyor 3 againstentry of unwanted mineral thereat.

FIG. 5 shows a prior arrangement in which the link 13 of the inventionis omitted from the space 12 so that the gap 10 at the underside of 11'at the front side wall 9' of conveyor 3 may be appreciated. Thethickness of keels 4a and 4a attached to the base means 8a and 8a raisesthe conveyor 3' to form the longitudinal gap 10 between the underside 11of the conveyor and the mine floor along which the keels and base meansslide. In this view, the optional upper element 18a is shown which isarticulatedly connected at 19 and 19 to the corresponding upper portionsof the base means 8a and 8a. Comparing FIG. 5 with FIG. 4, thelongitudinal partition between the base line 8a and 8a provided by thelink 13 in accordance with the present invention can be appreciated andthe manner in which the space 10 is occupied by the keel stub 17 whilethe space 12 is occupied by the upright wall 16. The cushion pocketprovided between the mining machine and the adjacent portion of the mineface advantageously prevents further mineral from passing therethroughto the underside of the conveyor. Advantageously, the construction andarrangement provided in accordance with the present invention has provenbetter in practice than previous measures utilized such as metal wool,e.g. steel wool inserts, covers, or the like in the area in question. Itwill be realized that in accordance with the present invention the finemineral cushion, such as fine coal, that is entrained by the miningmachine, especially a mining planer, and constantly renewed, is notsubject to wear and is not required to be replaced constantly as wastrue with metal wool inserts, covers, or the like. Instead, the veryoperation of the mining machine serves to replace as necessary the finecoal cushion. The collection of fine coal or other mineral beneath theconveyor diminishes abruptly in mining operations, for example, wherethe construction and arrangement shown in FIG. 5 is provided with theintermediate link of the present invention, for instance shown in FIG.4. Significantly, by reason of the presence of the keel stub on theintermediate link, the fine mineral, such as coal, is unable to flowdown onto the mine floor through the gap 10 (see FIG. 5) between thespaced apart keeis.

Whereas the fine mineral such as coal constantly was pumped through thespace 12 into the gap 10 beneath the conveyor 3 (shown in FIG. 5) andthus into the bottom flight of such conveyor, whereby to raise theconveyor and the path along which the mining machine was beingconducted, in accordance with the present invention, these problems donot develop, and a gradually built up layer of fine mineral whichbecomes progressively thicker does not occur.

By simple modification, the intermediate link 13 may be provided with anelastic apron or the like in place of the upright wall 16 where theupper element 18 is provided thereabove. This is because upper element18 will protect the intermediate link 13 from direct exposure toimpingement of large lumps of mineral, and in such instance a fine coalor other mineral cushion will again collect on the side of such flexibleapron adjacent the mine face and remote from the conveyor which will beconstantly replenished as the extraction of mineral progresses, yetsuitable blockage of the space 12 will exist to avoid the foregoingdisadvantages of the prior art.

In accordance with a particular embodiment of the present invention, amining planer adapted to be conducted along a longitudinally extendingmining conveyor adjacent a mine face to achieve operative engagementwith such mine face for extracting mineral therefrom may now beprovided, which comprises a pair of longitudinally spaced apart basemeans, and an intermediate means longitudinally interposed therebetweenand articulately interconnecting said pair of base means intandem-arranged linkably interconnected relation, each said base meansincluding a keel adapted to underlie such mining conveyor and slidealong the mine floor thereat, said keels being correspondingly spacedapart, said intermediate means including an upright wall extendingacross and occupying the space between said pair of base members as wellas a keel stub comparatively shorter than said keels and extendingsubstantially in the same direction and plane as the keels and occupyingthe space between said keels in the vicinity of the adjacent portions ofsuch conveyor at said pair of base means, said intermediate meansthereby forming a longitudinal upright partition between the base meansand a longitudinal keel stub partition between the keels which define a.cushion pocket with the adjacent portion of the mine face between thepair of base means whereby to accommodate fine particles of mineralwhich serve as a sealing cushion between the mine face and theintermediate means thereat to prevent excessive entry of extractedmineral into the space defined between the adjacent portions of saidbase means, said keels, the underside of such conveyor and the minefloor therebeneath.

It will be realized by the artisan that the particular arrangement shownin the drawings is but one construction which may be used with theintermediate link 13 of the present invention. Other such base meanshaving rearwardly extending keels may be articulatedly interconnectedwith the intermediate link 13 of the invention whereby to provide in thespace betwen the pair of base means, and preferably also in the spacebetween the corresponding keels, a longitudinal partition which definesa cushion pocket of the foregoing type. Generally, such base means willbe provided with cutting blades thereon for engaging the mine face, suchas for example in the case of a mining planer or other mining machine ofthe type contemplated.

It will be appreciated that the instant specification and drawings areset forth by way of illustration and not limitation, and that variousmodifications and changes may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention which is to be limited only by thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mining machine adapted to be conducted along a longitudinalguide means extending adjacent a mine face, with such mining machine inoperative engagement with such mine face for extracting mineraltherefrom, in which such mining machine includes a pair oflongitudinally spaced apart tandem-arranged linkably interconnected basemeans and each said base means includes a keel adapted to underlie suchguide means and slide along the mine floor thereat, said keels beingcorrespondingly spaced apart, the improvement which comprisesintermediate means interposed longitudinally between said pair of basemeans and articulatedly interconnecting said pair of base means, saidintermediate means forming a longitudinal partition between said pair ofbase means which defines a cushion pocket with the adjacent portion ofthe mine face between said pair of base means whereby to accommodatefine particles of mineral which serve as a sealing cushion between suchportion of the mine face and said intermediate means thereat to preventexcessive entry of extracted mineral into the space defined between theadjacent portions of said pair of base means, said keels, the undersideof such guide means and the mine floor therebeneath.

2. Improvement according to claim 1 wherein said intermediate meansincludes an upright wall extending across and occupying the spacebetween said pair of base means as well as a keel stub comparativelyshorter than said keels and extending substantially in the samedirection and plane as said keels and occupying the space between saidkeels in the vicinity of said adjacent portion of such guide means atsaid pair of base means.

3. Improvement according to claim 2 wherein an upper element is disposedin the space between the corresponding upper portions of said pair ofbase means which element articulatedly interconnects said pair of basemeans thereat whereby to define an upwardly limiting cover member abovesaid intermediate means to enhance the prevention of excessive entry ofextracted mineral into said space defined between the adjacent portionsof said pair of base means, said keels, the underside of such guidemeans and the mine floor therebeneath.

4. Improvement according to claim 3 wherein said mining machine is amining planer adapted to he conducted along a mining conveyor.

5. Mining planer adapted to be conducted along a longitudinallyextending mining conveyor adjacent a mine face to achieve operativeengagement with such mine face for extracting mineral therefrom, whichcomprises a pair of longitudinally spaced apart base means, and anintermediate means longitudinally interposed therehetween andarticulatedly interconnecting said pair of base means in tandem-arrangedlinkably intercom nected relation, each said base means including a keeladapted to underlie such mining conveyor and slide along the mine floorthereat, said keels being correspondingly spaced apart, saidintermediate means including an upright wall extending across andoccupying the space between said pair of base means as well as a keelstub comparatively shorter than said keels and extending substantiallyin the same direction and plane as said keels and occupying the spacebetween said keels in the vicinity of the adjacent portions of suchconveyor at said pair of base means, said intermediate means therebyforming a horizontal upright partition between said base means and alongitudinal keel stub partition between said keels which define acushion pocket with the adjacent portion of the mine face between saidpair of base means whereby to accommodate fine particles of mineralwhich serve as a sealing cushion between such mine face and saidintermediate means thereat to prevent excessive entry of extractedmineral into the space defined between the adjacent portions of saidbase means, said keels, the underside of such conveyor and the minefloor therebeneath.

6. Planer according to claim 5 wherein an upper element is disposed inthe space between the corresponding upper portions of said pair of basemeans which element articulatedly interconnects said pair of base meansthereat whereby to define an upwardly limiting cover member above saidintermediate means to enhance the prevention of excessive entry ofextracted mineral into said space defined between the adjacent portionsof said pair of base means, said keels, the underside of such conveyorand the mine floor therebeneath.

7. Planer according to claim 5 wherein said planer is associated incombination with a mining conveyor with said keels and keel stubunderlying said conveyor and said cushion pocket is defined operativelybetween the adjacent portion of the mine face the said upright portionof said intermediate means and the said pair of base means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,178,229 4/1965 Lobbe 29934FOREIGN PATENTS 1,346,999 11/1963 France.

ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A MINING MACHINE ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED ALONG A LONGITUDINALGUIDE MEANS EXTENDING ADJACENT A MINE FACE, WITH SUCH MINING MACHINE INOPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH SUCH MINE FACE FOR EXTRACTING MINERALTHEREFROM, IN WHICH SUCH MINING MACHINE INCLUDES A PAIR OFLONGITUDINALLY SPACED APART TANDEM-ARRANGED LINKABLY INTERCONNECTED BASEMEANS AND EACH SAID BASE MEANS INCLUDING A KEEL ADAPTED TO UNDERLIE SUCHGUIDE MEANS AND SLIDE ALONG THE MINE FLOOR THEREAT, SAID KEELS BEINGCORRESPONDINGLY SPACED APART, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISESINTERMEDIATE MEANS INTERPOSED LONGITUDINALLY BETWEEN SAID PAIR OF BASEMEANS AND ARTICULATEDLY INTERCONNECTING SAID PAIR OF BASE MEANS, SAIDINTERMEDIATE MEANS FORMING A LONGITUDINAL PARTITION BETWEEN SAID PAIR OFBASE MEANS WHICH DEFINES A CUSHION POCKET WITH THE ADJACENT PORTION OFTHE MINE FACE BETWEEN SAID PAIR OF BASE MEANS WHEREBY TO ACCOMMODATEFINE PARTICLES OF MINERAL WHICH SERVE AS A SEALING CUSHION BETWEEN SUCHPORTION OF THE MINE FACE AND SAID INTERMEDIATE MEANS THEREAT TO PREVENTEXCESSIVE ENTRY OF EXTRACTED MINERAL INTO THE SPACE DEFINED BETWEEN THEADJACENT PORTIONS OF SAID PAIR OF BASE MEANS, SAID KEELS, THE UNDERSIDEOF SUCH GUIDE MEANS AND THE MINE FLOOR THEREBENEATH.